Folks, I’ve been contacted about trading some old piano keys that are aparently made from real ivory. First of all, I have no idea what I would use it for, but that wouldn’t keep me from trading for it.

1) What are the legalities for this? 2) What is the advantage of using true Ivory over imitation materials? 3) Is it easy to work with?4) Can it be verified to be real Ivory?

5 replies so far

1) Its recycled so its legal to reuse, just don’t harvest any elephants or out of season walrus’s. LOL2)imitation doesn’t age as real ivory does.3) It can be machined with woodworking tools, its brittle so can break easy.4) Real ivory will yellow when aged.

I’d be very very careful. I was at an airport recently and they had a “trophy” cabinet of items they’d confiscated. Should you, or the person who ends up with one of your pieces ever try to cross an international border, they may have some serious trouble – is there paperwork that the ivory really is pre-embargo? How will that work if you’ve changed it to look unlike a piano key?This web site has a little informationOh, and the “hot pin” test will tell if the keys are plastic, but won’t tell you if they’re ivory or bone.

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